Air-conditioning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cabinet-type air-conditioning apparatus including a compressor, a condenser which contains a cooling air circulation system and an evaporator, characterized in that water is sprayed onto the condenser to cool it by the heat of evaporation, and the circulating cooling air entraining evaporated water is passed over the condenser before it is discharged to the outdoor to cool high-temperature gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor.

tates Patent [151 396359946 Sato et al. [451 ,En 1%, i972 [s4]AIR-CDNDITIONING APPARATUS [56] References cned [72] Inventors: YoshnarlSato, Yokohama-shi; Hiroshi UNITED STATES PATENTS Itoh, Fuji-shi; HldeklSano, Fujinomiyashi; Magno Tanaka, Fuji-shi, all 0f Japan 2,232,459 2/1941 Hull ..62/262 2,289,035 71942 N ....62 2 2 [73] Assignee: TokyoShibaura Electric Company 2 493 141 151950 Hgin 52;335 LimuedKawasaki-shi Japan .y 3,208,236 9/1965 Fngeno ..62/262 [22] Filed: Dec.23, 1969 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye [21] Appl' No" 887793Attorney-George B. Oujevolk [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57]ABSTRACT Mar. 13, 1969 Japan ..44/22057 A cabinet-type air-conditioningapparatus including a com- Mar. 13, 1969 Japan.... .....44/22058pressor, a condenser which contains a cooling air circulation Mar.13,1969 Japan ..44/22059 system and an evaporator, characterized in thatwater is y sprayed onto the condenser to cool it by the heat of evapora-[52] U.S.Cl ..62/305, 62/262, 62/173, tion, and the circulating coolingair entraining evaporated 62/90 water is passed over the condenserbefore it is discharged to xnt. Fzsd the outdoor to coolhiglfbtemperature gaseous refrigerant [58] Field 0f Search ..62/262,305, 90, 173; 62/262, compressed by the Compressor,

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAIIBISIZ 3,635,046

SHEU 2 nF 4 INVENTOR.

PAIENTEU JAM 8 me 3.835.046

SHEET 3 UF 4 FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

AIR-CONDITIONING APPARATUS This invention relates to an air-conditioningapparatus wherein a machine compartment and a cooling compartment arecontained in a single cabinet and the cabinet is communicated with theexterior of a room to be cooled through a flexible pipe.

Among the prior art apparatus may be mentioned the socalled window typewherein a cooling section including an evaporator is installed in theinside of a room to be cooled and a machine section containing acompressor and a condenser is installed on the outside of the room andthe separate type wherein the machine section on the outside of the roomand the cooling section in the room are interconnected by conduitsextending through a building wall.

However, these prior types are not advantageous in that once they areinstalled at predetermined locations in the room they can not be movedto other locations and that installation of the apparatus requiressubstantial labor and time.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and irnprovedair-conditioning apparatus which can be moved to any desired location inthe room and can be installed at low cost.

According to this invention an improved cabinet-type airconditioningapparatus is provided wherein water is sprayed onto a condenser which iscooled by forced circulation of air and the steam generated by theevaporation of the sprayed water is discharged to the outdoor togetherwith the circulating air. The circulating air containing steam isutilized to cool hot gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor toincrease the overall thermal efficiency of the room cooler. By using aflexible exhaust hose, the air-conditioning apparatus may be located inany desired position in the room. The air intake pipe for thecirculating air may be concentric or independent of the exhaust hose.

The present invention can be more fully understood from the followingdetailed description when taken in connection with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of one embodiment of this invention withportions broken away to show the detail in the cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation, partly in section, of therefrigerant cycle shown in FIG. l to explain the operation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional' view of a portion of the machinesection to show the flow of air therein, as well as the mounting ofpipes interconnecting the inside and outside of a room; and

FIG. 4 shows a modified arrangement of pipes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interior of the cabinet l of the room cooler isdivided into an upper cooling section or compartment 3 and a lowermachine section or compartment 4 by means of a horizontal partition wall2. The cooling compartment 3 houses an evaporator 5 and air suctionlouvers 6 are provided on both sidewalls thereof. An air discharge grill7 is formed at a portion of the upper surface of the cabinet. Thecooling compartment 3 also contains motor-driven fan 8. Although notshown in the drawing suitable air filters are mounted on the inside ofthe louvers to remove dust from the air sucked through the louvers.

As shown in FIG. 2, contained in the machine compartment 4i is acompressor unit 9 which may be a rotary compressor l2 directly coupledto an electric motor 11 which are enclosed in a sealed casing 10.

An evaporation-type condenser 113 juxtaposed with the compressor unit 9comprises a tortuous pipe 14, a water sprinkler l disposed above thepipe 14 and a heater 16 above the sprinkler 15, these elements beingcontained in a condenser casing 17. A pan 18 for receiving the coolingwater is mounted on the bottom wall of the machine compartment below thebottom of the condenser casing 17 and an immersion pump 19 driven by anelectric motor 20 is disposed in the pan 18 to supply the water thereinto the sprinkler l5 via a conduit 21.

Compressor 12 is connected to one end of` the heater 16 through adischarge pipe 22 while the other end of the heater 16 is communicatedwith the interior of the casing l0 through a return pipe 23. The upperend of the casing 10 is connected to the upper end of the pipe M of theevaporation condenser 13 via a gas discharge pipe 24 while the lower endof the pipe 14 is connected to the evaporator 5 contained in the coolingcompartment 3 via a capillary tube 25. The low-pressure refrigerant gasevaporated in the evaporator 5 is conveyed to the compressor l2 througha pipe 26.

There is provided a compressor unit 9 which comprises the reciprocationtype, in this case, the other end of the heater 16 is directly connectedto the upper end of' the pipe I4 of the evaporation condenser 13.

Although not shown in the drawing a drip pan is located beneath theevaporator 5 and the condensed water collected in the drip pan isconveyed to the pan I8 through a conduit also not shown.

On the front side of the cabinet l is mounted a tank holder 27 carryinga cartridge tank 28 which is communicated with the pan 18 to maintainthe water contained therein always at a constant quantity. A drainpipe(not shown) is connected to the bottom ofthe pan 18.

A discharge port 29 is provided on the upper portion of the condensercasing 17 which is connected through a duct 32 made of a syntheticresin, for example, to a fan casing 31 housing a fan 30 driven by themotor 20. The side opening of the fan casing 31 is connected to theoutside of the room via a flexible exhaust hose 33 made of a syntheticresin.

As shown in FIG. 1 casters 34 are mounted on the bottom of the cabinet lto enable easy movement thereof.

In operation, high-pressure and high-temperature gaseous refrigerantcompressed by the compressor 12 is conveyed to the heater 16 via adischarge pipe 22. The gaseous refrigerant introduced into the heater 16undergoes heat exchange with hot steam evaporated from the surface of'the condenser pipe 14 in a manner to be described later, and saidrefrigerant is then returned to the interior of the compressor casing l0via a return pipe 23. While passing through return pipe 23 the gaseousrefrigerant is cooled so that the oil vapor contained therein condensesinto large oil particles which are separated from the gaseousrefrigerant by the pressure reduction action occurring at the time ofdischarging the mixture into the compressor casing 10. Separated oil isaccumulated in the bottom of the casing 10. The gaseous refrigerant istiren introduced into the pipe 14 of the evaporation condenser ll3through pipe 24. The water contained in pan 18 is supplied to thesprinkler 15 by means of pump 19 via pipe 21 and sprinkled overcondenser pipe 14. While flowing down over the surface of the pipe 14the water is evaporated by the heat of the high-temperature gaseousrefrigerant thus condensing the same.

The air taken into the cabinet through an air suction window 35 formedon one side is introduced into the evaporation condenser 13 as shown bythick arrows (hatched) to provide forced air cooling to the condenserpipe in addition to the cooling effect provided by the sprinkled water.The air becomes highly humid by entraining a large quantity of steamevaporated from the surface of pipe 14 thereby cooling thehigh-temperature gaseous refrigerant in the heater I6. The relativehumidity of the air is decreased by being heated by the high-temperaturegaseous refrigerant and the air is then discharged to the atmosphere bythe operation of fan 30 via discharge port 29 of the condenser casing 17and through exhaust hose 33. In this manner, as the air is heated by thegaseous refrigerant in the heater, the steam entrained in the coolingair will never condense before it is discharged into the atmosphere.

The liquid refrigerant condensed in the evaporation condenser 13 issupplied to evaporator 5 through the capillary tube 25 and vaporizes inthe evaporator by depriving heat of the surroundings. As shown by thickarrows (not hatched), the air sucked through air intake louver 6 isremoved of its dust by the above-described filters cooled while passingthrough the evaporator 5 and the cooled air is discharged into the roomthrough the air discharge grill 7. The dew condensed by the evaporator 5is collected in the drip pan and is then sent to the pan 18.

Although in the embodiment shown in FIGS. l and 2 the cooling air forthe evaporation condenser 13 is taken from the room to be cooled throughair intake window 35, in the modified embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and4, outdoor air is introduced into the cabinet l to cool the evaporationcondenser.

More particularly, as shown in FIG. 3, an opening 36 is provided througha sidewall of the cabinet l through which extends a removable exhausthose 33 connected to a casing 3l enclosing a fan 30 driven by electricmotor 20. The exhaust hose 33 extends through a building wall 37 to theatmosphere. An air suction pipe 38 is provided in concentricrelationship with the exhaust hose 33, one end of the suction pipe 38being removably secured to the opening 36. As shown by arrows, theoutdoor air is introduced in the space between the exhaust hose 33 andthe suction pipe 38, enters into the condenser casing 17 via air intakeopenings 39. After cooling the evaporation condenser 13, the air isdischarged into the outdoor by the operation of fan 30 via duct 32 andexhaust hose 33 as high-temperature, high-humidity air.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in addition to the discharge opening36 connected to the exhaust hose 33, an additional opening 40 isprovided through the cabinet 1 to be removably connected with suctionpipe 38. A booster 4I may be connected to the outer end of the suctionpipe 38, said booster 4I comprising a booster fan 43 driven by anelectric motor 42 to increase the cooling capacity of theair-conditioning apparatus.

Elements shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and corresponding to those shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, so thatdescription thereof is believed unnecessary.

In this manner, this invention provides an improved portableair-conditioning apparatus wherein the interior of a cabinet is dividedinto an upper cooling compartment and a lower machine compartment andhigh-humidity air generated by an evaporation condenser is discharged tothe outdoor via a flexible discharge hose. This construction not onlypermits free movement of the apparatus but also greatly saves the costof installation. Moreover, the dew formed on the evaporator is collectedto cool the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant and is discharged tothe outdoor together with the cooling air for the condenser. Further asthe steam generated by the evaporation condenser is effectively used tocool the high-temperature gaseous refrigerant, it is possible to reducethe quantity of the air for cooling the condenser and hence the capacityof the air-circulating fan.

What is claimed is:

l. In an air-conditioning apparatus contained in a cabinet, having apartition wall to divide the interior of said cabinet into a machinecompartment and a cooling compartment, a compressor contained in saidmachine compartment, ari evaporation condenser disposed in said machinecompartment, said evaporation condenser being connected to saidcompressor to condense gaseous refrigerant compressed by saidcompressor, a water sprinkler included in a water circulation system tospray water onto said evaporation condenser to cool the refrigerantflowing therethrough, an evaporator contained in said coolingcompartment, means to cool said evaporation condenser by forcedcirculation air to remove steam generated by the water sprayed on saidevaporation condenser, an exhaust hose to discharge to outdoor saidforced circulation air entraining said generated steam, and whereinthere is included an air exhaust system constituted by a condensercasing containing said sprinkler and said evaporation condenser, saidcondenser casing having an exhaust discharge port at its upper end, aduct connected to said discharge port to discharge air after it has beenused to cool said evaporation condenser, a fan contained in said duct,and a discharge hose to discharge air to the outdoor by the operation ofsaid fan, the improvement therein wherein there is a heater disposedabove said evaporation condenser, said heater being connected to receivehigh-temperature gaseous refrigerant from said compressor, the relativehumidity of the air being decreased by heating the high-temperaturegaseous refrigerant in said heater.

2. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim l wherein saidwater circulation system comprises a water pan disposed beneath saidevaporation condenser to receive water drained therefrom, means tomaintain the water in said pan at a substantially constant quantity, apump disposed in said water pan and said sprinkler being disposed abovesaid evaporation condenser, said sprinkler being connected to said pumpto spray water in said pan onto said evaporation condenser.

3. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 2 wherein saidmeans for maintaining said water at a substantially constant quantitycomprises a cartridge filled with water, the outer end of said cartridgebeing dipped in the water of said pan to supply water thereto.

4. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim l wherein anopening is provided through said cabinet and one end of an intake pipeis connected to said opening for passing said forced cooling air, theopposite end of said air intake pipe being opened to the outdoor.

5. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said airintake pipe is disposed in concentric relationship with said dischargehose so that cooling air is sucked through a space between said airintake pipe and said discharge hose.

6. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein a boosterincluding a fan is connected to the outdoor end of said air intake pipe.

7. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising:

a. a cabinet;

b. a partition wall in said cabinet to divide the interior of saidcabinet into a machine compartment and cooling compartment;

c. a compressor contained in said machine compartment;

d. an air exhaust system having a condenser casing provided with adischarge port at its upper end and containing an evaporation condenser,a water sprinkler and a heater, said evaporation condenser beingdisposed .in the machine compartment and connected to the compressor,said water sprinkler being included in a water circulation system tospray water onto said condenser to cool a refrigerant flowingtherethrough, said heater being disposed above said sprinkler andconnected to said compressor to receive therefrom hot gaseousrefrigerant, so that the relative humidity of the air is decreased;

e. a duct connected to said discharge port for discharging the air aftersaid evaporation condenser has been cooled including a fan contained insaid duct; and,

f. a discharge hose to discharge air to the outdoor by the operation ofsaid fan.

1. In an air-conditioning apparatus contained in a cabinet, having apartition wall to divide the interior of said cabinet into a machinecompartment and a cooling compartment, a compressor contained in saidmachine compartment, an evaporation condenser disposed in said machinecompartment, said evaporation condenser being connected to saidcompressor to condense gaseous refrigerant compressed by saidcompressor, a water sprinkler included in a water circulation system tospray water onto said evaporation condenser to cool the refrigerantflowing therethrough, an evaporator contained in said coolingcompartment, means to cool said evaporation condenser by forcedcirculation air to remove steam generated by the water sprayed on saidevaporation condenser, an exhaust hose to discharge to outdoor saidforced circulation air entraining said generated steam, and whereinthere is included an air exhaust system constituted by a condensercasing containing said sprinkler and said evaporation condenser, saidcondenser casing having an exhaust discharge port at its upper end, aduct connected to said discharge port to discharge air after it has beenused to cool said evaporation condenser, a fan contained in said duct,and a discharge hose to discharge air to the outdoor by the operation ofsaid fan, the improvement therein wherein there is a heater disposedabove said evaporation condenser, said heater being connected to receivehigh-temperature gaseous refrigerant from said compressor, the relativehumidity of the air being decreased by heating the high-temperaturegaseous refrigerant in said heater.
 2. The air-conditioning apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein said water circulation system comprises awater pan disposed beneath said evaporation condenser to receive waterdrained therefrom, means to maintain the water in said pan at asubstantially constant quantity, a pump disposed in said water pan andsaid sprinkler being disposed above said evaporation condenser, saidsprinkler being connected to said pump to spray water in said pan ontosaid evaporation condenser.
 3. The air-conditioning apparatus accordingto claim 2 wherein said means for maintaining said water at asubstantially constant quantity comprises a cartridge filled with water,the outer end of said cartridge being dipped in the water of said pan tosupply water thereto.
 4. The air-conditioning apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein an opening is provided through said cabinet and one endof an intake pipe is connected to said opening for passing said forcedcooling air, the opposite end of said air intake pipe being opened tothe outdoor.
 5. The air-conditioning apparatus according to claim 4wherein said air intake pipe is disposed in concentric relationship withsaid discharge hose so that cooling air is sucked through a spacebetween said air intake pipe and said discharge hose.
 6. Theair-conditioning apparatus according to claim 4 wherein a boosterincluding a fan is connected to the outdoor end of said air intake pipe.7. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising: a. a cabinet; b. apartition wall in said cabinet to divide the interior of said cabinetinto a machine compartment and cooling compartment; c. a compressorcontained in said machine compartment; d. an air exhaust system having acondenser casing provided with a discharge port at its upper end andcontaining an evaporation condenser, a water sprinkler and a heater,said evaporation condenser being disposed in the machine compartment andconnected to the compressor, said water sprinkler being included in awater circulation system to spray water onto said condenser to cool arefrigerant flowing therethrough, said heater being disposed above saidsprinkler and connected to said compressor to receive therefrom hotgaseous refrigerant, so that the relative humidity of the air isdecreased; e. a duct connected to said discharge port for dischargingthe air after said evaporation condenser has been cooled including a fancontained in said duct; and, f. a discharge hose to discharge air to theoutdoor by the operation of said fan.